ScienceDaily: Strange Science News

---

• Mercury gets a meteoroid shower from Comet Encke
• Mars' moon Phobos is slowly falling apart
• Creating a wide variety of new holograms
• Twenty-two ancient shipwrecks discovered in small Greek archipelago
• Glove allows to feel heat and cold in virtual reality apps
• Implantable wireless devices trigger, and may block, pain signals
• A hairy situation: Hair increases surface area for animals by 100 times

Mercury gets a meteoroid shower from Comet Encke Posted: 10 Nov 2015 02:13 PM PST The planet Mercury is being pelted regularly by bits of dust from an ancient comet, a new study has concluded. This has a discernible effect in the planet's tenuous atmosphere and may lead to a new paradigm on how these airless bodies maintain their ethereal envelopes.

Mars' moon Phobos is slowly falling apart Posted: 10 Nov 2015 02:12 PM PST The long, shallow grooves lining the surface of Phobos are likely early signs of the structural failure that will ultimately destroy this moon of Mars.

Creating a wide variety of new holograms Posted: 10 Nov 2015 09:04 AM PST Researchers have developed techniques that can be used to create ideal geometric phase holograms for any kind of optical pattern -- a significant advance over the limitations of previous techniques. The holograms can be used to create new types of displays, imaging systems, telecommunications technology and astronomical instruments.

Twenty-two ancient shipwrecks discovered in small Greek archipelago Posted: 10 Nov 2015 06:44 AM PST An archaeological expedition has recorded 22 shipwrecks over 13 days in what may be the ancient shipwreck capital of the world.

Glove allows to feel heat and cold in virtual reality apps Posted: 10 Nov 2015 05:25 AM PST Can you imagine burning your fingertips or feel that ice freezes your hand as you interact with a program of virtual reality? Researchers have now created a pair of gloves with an interface that stimulates the skin and allows the sense of touch in cyber worlds.

Implantable wireless devices trigger, and may block, pain signals Posted: 09 Nov 2015 11:36 AM PST Building on wireless technology that has the potential to interfere with pain, scientists have developed flexible, implantable devices that can activate -- and, in theory, block -- pain signals in the body and spinal cord before those signals reach the brain. The researchers say the implants one day may be used in different parts of the body to fight pain that doesn't respond to other therapies.

A hairy situation: Hair increases surface area for animals by 100 times Posted: 09 Nov 2015 11:02 AM PST A review study about the role hair plays in collecting dirt on animals and insects and the roles it plays in helping to keep them clean. A honeybee and a squirrel have the same amount: 3 million. A beaver has about 300 million. A moth has 10 billion. The study also identifies true surface area: the total area where dirt can possibly collect on an animal. A sea otter has the true surface area of a hockey rink.

You are subscribed to email updates from Strange & Offbeat News -- ScienceDaily. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States